Suspected bank robber caught in underwear

The Rockdale County Sheriff's Office arrested a man over the weekend that had recently escaped from prison, stole a truck and is suspected in two recent bank robberies.

On Sunday, May 4, just after 9:30 AM, deputies with the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to multiple Suspicious Person calls after a man in his underwear was seen running through yards and jumping fences along Fairview Road near Salem Road.

Based on the information given to deputies, the deputies remained in the area for over an hour in an attempt to locate the individual. A deputy was able to locate the man in a heavily wooded area nearby and took him into custody. The suspect was pulled from the woods wearing only his underwear. Deputies reported that the man was extremely delusional, appearing to be under the influence of drugs.

The suspect has been identified as Robert Brian McClellan, 36. McClellan began serving a 15 year prison sentence in April 2008 for multiple burglary, robbery and theft convictions before escaping recently. He is currently being held in the Rockdale County Jail facing a charge of Theft by Receiving Stolen Property.

While responding deputies were searching for the man in the area, they also located a stolen truck from Aiken, South Carolina. A resident told deputies that a man matching the description of the one seen running around in his underwear paid him $20 to park the vehicle in his driveway. When deputies conducted an NCIC inquiry on the truck, it came back stolen. It was at this point that deputies learned that the man that stole the truck was an escaped inmate from an Augusta prison in Richmond County.

A Rockdale County Sheriff's Office investigator that responded to the scene also noticed that the same man matched the suspect description in a Newton County bank robbery on May 3, 2014. The Best Bank on Salem Road was robbed at gunpoint on Saturday. The Newton County Sheriff's Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the bank robbery. In addition to the Newton County Bank robbery, the RCSO has learned that McClellan is suspected of a recent bank robbery in South Carolina. Both bank robberies are currently under investigation.

"I want to commend Deputy Blake, Deputy Lopez and Investigator Blevins for an outstanding job in apprehending this dangerous criminal," said Sheriff Eric Levett. "The deputies demonstrated a commendable effort to locate this individual. Despite the fact that this was an apparent minor incident that deputies responded, the deputies clearly demonstrated that you never know the true gravity of any call for service. The deputies were persistent to locate this individual, and it paid off in the end. This arrest puts an end to this escaped inmate's recent crime spree and puts him back behind bars where he belongs."